Underneath It All
by simplee-dazed
Summary: Harry Potter is just an ordinary boy, who's invisble to all and lives a life full of questions. Hermione is just the opposite, smart, talented, and head girl, she's noticed by all. How can two people from two diff worlds mix? Harry's more than he thinks..
1. Realizing

  
  
  
  
AN: Hi there, I got the idea for this fic from listening to Stole by Kelly Rowland. Guess you can call it inspiration ;) Hehe, hope you like it since it's my first try at writing HP fics. It's kinda scary since there are SO many out there -___- Well hope you enjoy it!  
  
Note: This fic doesn't follow the original storyline of Harry Potter.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters in Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling does. The plot and any extra characters belong to me :)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Underneath it All  
Chapter One: Realizing

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Seventeen year old Harry Potter stepped foot onto the scarlet Hogwarts Express that was currently bellowing out steam. He shifted his glasses so that they weren't at the very tip of his sweaty nose.   
  
The young man hurried down the isle, in hopes of finding an empty compartment to himself. He was gradually loosing hope when he was nearing the back of the train and he still hadn't seen any compartments unoccupied. Yet just as he was about to think of some way to ask somebody to let him sit with them, his brilliant green eyes darted to the left and to his joy- an empty compartment.  
  
Harry lunged his bags into the compartment and stepped in holding Hedwig's cage, her glossy white feathers shining. The effort of tossing the bags in caused sweat to erupt on his forehead. Hence, he was sometimes called 'scrawny' for his age, with his skinny lanky figure and pale skin. But it wasn't entirely his false. Blame his aunt and uncle for starving him constantly.  
  
The train lurched forward, and Harry let out a breath that he hadn't noticed he had been holding all along. Another year at Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardy. Another...yet the last, his final seventh year. Great. It didn't really matter to him. He was glad it was all going to be over soon. The tauntings, the glares, sneers...failures...etc. Although there sometimes were a few bright things in his life at Hogwarts, just...there seemed to be more bad than good. But after the year was over, what would he do with the rest of his life? Rot in the Dursleys house? Or simply starve until he was nothing but bone?  
  
Harry frowned as he stared out at the green hills that rolled by from his view. He never understood his life, never knew the purpose of his existence to be exact. He simply...was just there. Rarely noticed anywhere, and he simply didn't fit in either. Harry was use to it now though. He spent his breaks and lunches pondering on hopeless dreams..and espeically his parents. Uncle Vernon simply stated that his parents died in a horrid car accident. For weird reasons, Harry couldn't believe it. He didn't know why. He was a wizard, wouldn't that make his parents wizards?  
  
His brow furrowed in frustration. And if his parents were wizards, they couldn't just die because of some car accident. It seemed such a muggle-like death.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
Harry's head snapped up from the sudden soft voice that interupted him from his usual train of thoughts. He looked over to the door of his compartment in which he had carelessly left open. "Huh?"  
  
A girl was standing there, and she was quite tall (yet Harry felt that he would still be taller than her if he stood) with a pretty nice figure. She had all the curves in the right places, and her hair was rather a bushy mass of brown curls sitting on top of her perfectly shaped face.  
  
"Sorry if I startled you," She blinked, causing Harry to blink along. "But all the compartments seem to be filled..." She bit her pink lips and tilted her head. "So I was wondering if we could join you?"  
  
"...W..we?" Harry cleared his throat. "We?"  
  
The girl simply nodded and stepped in, revealing two more girls behind her. They seemed to screw up their noses when their eyes landed upon Harry, and he couldn't help but think that he heard something like "Oh it's him, that..what's his name?"  
  
Harry shrugged and waved a hand lazily at the empty plush seats across from where he was sitting.   
  
The girl with the bush like hair sighed in relief as she plopped her bags down next to her. Her friends, supposedly, relunctantly followed and plopped themselves next to the girl.  
  
"Do we _have_ to sit here Herms?" One girl with strawberry blonde hair pulled into a high pony tail complained.  
  
The girl being addressed frowned slightly, "Yes, you saw how filled the compartments were. And don't call me Herms! How long have I pestered you about that nickname?"  
  
"Oh for a long time my dear old friend," The blonde laughed.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. Girls.  
  
He focused his attention away from the three, and back to his endless thoughts. So he was normal, pretty normal, and plain. He wasn't a nerd, just a loner he supposed. But Harry didn't think he was _that_ boring was he? He had some mysterious past and he really wanted to figure it out...maybe then someone would notice him as Harry. He even had some funky shaped scar on his forehead which he noticed was in the shape of a thunderbolt. But naturally, he was the only one that noticed.  
  
"Oh four chocolate frogs, thank you mam."  
  
"Oh! And a cauldron cake too. Thank you."  
  
Harry wrinkled his nose as the scent of the goodies wafted to his nose. Maybe he should buy..  
  
"Here!"  
  
He jumped slightly at the sudden sight of a chocolate frog in his face as his eyes jumped to the person handing it to him. It was that same girl with the bushy hair. "Uh...what?"  
  
"Take it silly," The girl laughed and rolled her eyes. "For letting us sit here with you."  
  
Harry felt the package land in his lap while he stared at it dumbly. Someone had given him something. That was a first!  
  
He held it stiffly in his right hand as he looked up at that girl chatting happily with the girl next to her. He noticed the blonde had fallen asleep with her head against the door.  
  
Harry once again looked at the chocolate frog still wrapped, grasped in his hand. Somehow he couldn't bring himself to unwrap it and eat it. He sighed and stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans.  
  
"So you already have you're schedule? Oh let me see!"  
  
"Potions first thing?!"  
  
"No really?"  
  
"We do! That's just it! I'm skipping it!"  
  
"No you're not! You can't skip a class Rina."  
  
"Well I'm not the one who completely ran from Divination one year..."  
  
"Oh sod off!! You were on my side when I claimed that Trelawney was an old fraud."  
  
Harry shifted around in his seat, still deep in thought. Other than his parents...he had all this money from them just simply left in a vault in Gringotts for him to take. Loads of Galleons that gleamed in the sunlight were stacked in his vault, and he guess that was one of the good things in his life. At least he wasn't living off of dry bread and water.  
  
His mind was feeling bland, and the sky seemed to be getting dimmer, and so were Harry's eyelids. They were getting heavier and heavier until they collasped completely, and he dozed into a restless sleep of nightmares.  
  
  


~*~

  
  
  
_A flash of green light...screaming...  
  
"No, take me, don't take Harry! Not Harry, not Harry!"  
  
A merciless laugh filled the air, the surroundings...everything...  
  
  
  
_"Hey wake up." said a soft voice that seem to be getting louder by the second.  
  
"Don't bother, he's fast asleep," Rina muttered as she smoothed out her black Hogwarts robes.  
  
The blonde nodded, "He'll eventually wake when the train comes to a stop, Hermione."  
  
Hermione seemed unconvinced as she raised an eyebrow at her friends. "You guys don't seem the least bit grateful that he didn't kick us out of the compartment he occupied first."  
  
"Whoa, hold your horses girl! When did you go all...nice!"  
  
"Nice?"  
  
"I mean, on his side! I mean, isn't he the school loner I think?"  
  
Hermione shrugged, "Loner or not, we still have to wake him right?"  
  
"I suppose."  
  
"Hey, we're arriving! WAKE UP!"  
  
His eyes snapped open and noticed that a blurry shape was standing over him. He felt the weight of his glasses on his lap which must've slipped off during his sleep. He quickly reached down at them and placed them back in place.  
  
"Oh, are we here?"  
  
"Yes," Hermione stepped back to fix her robes.  
  
Harry caught a gleam of something on the girl's robes and noticed it was a badge with the words 'Head Girl' glittering brightly._ Oh, so she's head girl...come to think of it, I think I remember her from somewhere._  
  
He shrugged the thought out of his still sleepy mind as he got up and reached into his bag to find his school robes. Harry finally found it and pulled it out, quickly changing into it with his red sweater and jeans still on.  
  
"Oh right you're Harry!" The blonde pointed out.   
  
"Harry?" Rina said with an odd glance at her friend.  
  
Polly simply shrugged in reply, "He just seemed awfully familiar from the very beginning to me. And its finally struck me! He's Harry, that silent one who always just sits there."  
  
Hermione seemed rather surprised. "I think I might've seen you being picked on in Potions."  
  
"See how forgetful you two are? Can't even remember a silly guy in our own house."  
  
"I wasn't thinking, Polly," Hermione snapped in annoyance as she pulled the compartment door open.  
  
Harry frowned inwardly. _Right, of course you all forgot about me.  
  
_"Yes! I'm so glad we're here! I can't wait until the feast begins," Polly went right after Hermione who already stepped out and into the busy hallway.  
  
Rina followed shortly and Harry tagged behind, Hedwig tapping at the golden bars of her cage impatiently.  
  
"We're almost there Hedwig, and then you can have a good night's sleep instead of being cramped up in that cage..." Harry spoke softly to his companion; his only companion.  
  
Harry unmistakenly recognized the loud booming voice of Hagrid, the gamekeeper and teacher for Care of Magical Creatures. He remembered his first year as if he never existed. It was probably about the same as any other year in which he went through unoticed by all.  
  
"Oi!! Hermione!!" A hand was sticking out from the swarming cloud of people all trying to push their way through and out of the train.  
  
Harry saw the girl that had offered him the frog turn around and look about. "What? Is that you Ron??"  
  
"Yes! I'm right...here..." There was a bit of struggling before a red head popped into view and at once Hermione's face brightened at the mere sight of him.  
  
"Ron!" Hermione gave the boy a bear hug which made him turn as red as his hair. "How was your summer?"  
  
"I thought I told you about it in my letters?" Ron look rather distressed. "Or did Pig loose them all? I wouldn't be surprised..."  
  
She shoke her head, "Of course not. I got them but it doesn't hurt to ask again right?"  
  
"When did the little book worm become so...curious?"   
  
"Hey!"  
  
"I'm just teasing you!"  
  
Harry watched the two disappear from his view as they stepped off, him following shortly. There was a bit of fog hanging around, and alot of fog hanging above the lake in which the first years were already heading towards. He climbed onto a carriage and was soon joined by Neville Longbottom. A round and forgetful boy, also in Gryffindor and another student Snape loved to torment.  
  
"Hey Harry," Neville said in rather a bored tone. "I think I'm having a headache you know? Trying to remember so many things at once!"  
  
Harry stared, "But there's nothing to remember...I mean, classes haven't started yet!"  
  
"I know, but I can't seem to find my schedule..."  
  
"That's because we haven't recieved them from Professor McGonagall yet," Harry said, rather surprised Neville could be so mindless at times. "Exceptional to the Head Girl and Boy and Prefects though."  
  
Neville blinked his round confused eyes at him. "Oh! Well that's good, one thing to not worry about anymore!"  
  
Harry shook his head and glanced out of the window, the shadow of the grand castle looming ahead casted upon the many carriages coming up to it.  
  
They came to a lurching stop, and Harry took no time at all to get off of it before he could hear another word of Neville's so called 'worries'.  
  
He heard a melodic laugh ring about the chilly night air, and to his surprise the Head Girl was standing just a couple feet away from him with the red head and the two girls from the Hogwarts Express. Harry blinked, not really noticing that he was listening in on their conversation.  
  
"Hermione, you're working yourself to hard."  
  
_Hermione..._Harry felt the name ring in his ears and slip out again as if it were never there. He sighed, not feeling how much his insides ached to be able to join them. _Hermione...   
  
_Harry Potter stuck his cold hands into the pocket of his jeans as he followed the rest through the masive doors of Hogwarts. Before he was engulfed in light and warmth coming from the Great Hall, his last thoughts dwelded.  
  
_She seems like...a nice girl..._  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. The Awakened Demon

  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters in Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling does. The plot and any extra characters belong to me :)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Underneath it All  
Chapter Two: The Awakened Demon

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
He wasn't really paying attention as the Sorting Hat was placed upon the heads of the frightened first years. Harry was actually finding interest in his empty golden plate. His stomach let out a gurgle, which caused him to turn slightly pink in embarrassment as a few people sitting by heard.  
  
"Tracy Hemmings." Professor McGonagall read off the list of names in the same stiff voice.  
  
A girl with curly golden locks tied back in pig tails hopped up and the hat was placed upon her golden head. Not even a minute after, the old tattered hat boomed out, "RAVENCLAW!"  
  
And then the list went on, and Harry went on with staring at his goblet now. As if on cue, Dumbledore stood up as the last of the first years took their seat at their house table. His long wispy beard seemed to gleam, and so did his eyes as he scanned the four long tables with a smile. "Ah yes, welcome back to another exciting year at Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardy. Please take note that the Forbidden Forest is still off limits to all students. We would also like to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! Professor Dawkes."  
  
A thin woman stood up and eyed the students warily. At once everyone seemed to dislike her gaze, hence the applause was rather forced.  
  
"And I guess, I have nothing more to say, but to enjoy your feast." Dumbledore waved his hand and the plates filled immediately.  
  
Harry's mood brightened at the sight of mashed potatoes and roast beef, which were much more luxurious than what the Dursleys threw at him for the past two months. His whale sized cousin Dudley was still on an unsuccessful diet which meant the whole family had to live on grapefruit and carrot sticks along with him.  
  
"Mr. Potter."  
  
Harry lifted his gaze from his plate and saw Professor McGonagall standing over him. "...Yes?"  
  
"Your schedule," She handed him a piece of parchment.  
  
"Thanks," He took it from her, but noticed that Professor McGonagall was still standing in place. He blinked and looked at her expectantly. "...Er.."  
  
She stared down at him from the bridge of her noise and Harry almost thought he caught a smile on his strict professor's face. "Right, I forgot to send this letter to you because there must've have been piles and piles of unanswered mail on my desk. Supossedly this got lost in the pile, but here it is."  
  
Harry was handed an envelope with the Hogwarts crest on it. He looked at it in wonder as Professor McGonagall turned to leave. "I suggest you open it now too." And then she was off.  
  
He flipped the envelope over quickly, the wonderful fumes of food forgotten as curiousity clouded his mind. Harry pulled a piece of parchment out of it, and along with it, a badge.  
  
His green eyes darted across the words hastily, and with every sentence his eyes widened in amazement. "I'm a Prefect!?"   
  
Several heads turned towards him and he couldn't help but blush as he turned quickly to glance at Professor McGonagall. She seemed to be avoiding his gaze purposely, but that didn't put down his spirit.  
  
_A Prefect! _He thought in confusion yet excitement at the same time. For once something out of the ordinary was happening to him. Being a Prefect meant being able to boss people around, which of course wasn't in Harry's nature. Yet it was fun to think of the privileges he had. _ I wonder how I got to be one in the first place..   
  
_He clumsily pinned on his Prefect badge while returning his attention back onto his food. For the remainder of the feast, Harry ate and beamed down at his food in silent pride.  
  
  


~*~

  
  
  
  
Long after the feast was over, and the students had long been in bed, the professors of Hogwarts held a meeting in Dumbledore's office.  
  
"When are we going to tell him?" Professor McGonagall said in a rather distraught voice.  
  
"There is no need to worry Minerva. It will be soon for it is his last year attending school is it not?" Dumbledore replied calmly.  
  
Professor Trelawney's lips twitched. "I've been hinting to the boy that he is something more than...what he is at the moment."  
  
"And your way of hinting is probably 'seeing' his upcoming death and the reason?" Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Infact you're quite right Minerva."  
  
Dumbledore gave both of them a stern glance and their little quarrel stopped with pursed lips and a few glares. "Anyways, I think we shouldn't just throw it at the boy should we?"  
  
"Of course not, Potter can't even handle a simple hair-raising potion." Snape snapped.  
  
"Let's not bring up his academic skills in this meeting," Dumbledore sighed. "Well any suggestions?"  
  
Silence blanketed the room as every professor seemed to sit in deep thought over the situation concerning Harry. Dumbledore's usual glint behind his half-moon spectacles seemed dimmed by the sudden thought of having to bring something up.   
  
"Must we'h tell 'im?"  
  
"Of course Rubeus, it is his life, and it is his right to know what truly happened in the past," said Dumbledore with a weary tone replacing his usual calm and steady voice.  
  
Hagrid sighed and slumped lower into his seat which was already caving in slowly. "Poor thin' "  
  
"Well why not let the boy figure it out himself?" Professor McGonagall suggested tightly as she scanned the group quickly before taking in a breath. "I mean, the information is there, right in front of him is it not?"  
  
"That is true, but the more informative books are in the restricted section mostly." Snape looked rather bored as he replied.  
  
Dumbledore suddenly sat straighter, shuffling his long purple robes in the process. "Ah! That is a very good suggestion indeed Minerva."  
  
"To get the boy to break rules?" Snape at once glowered.  
  
"Not exactly, we can bring the books to him." Dumbledore turned to Professor McGonagall, and she gave him a knowing glance back.  
  
"Very well, I'll place the books in the dormitories tomorrow night, he'll simply think one of his fellow students left it behind carelessly."  
  
Snape frowned, "That stupid boy won't even bother looking at them."  
  
"Maybe a little charm will do," Dumbledore simply replied before he stood up, the twinkle in his eyes back once again. "I guess our meeting is finished for tonight. And of course, you all know not to purposely slip anything in front of any other students. We do not want rumours spreading."  
  
There were a few nods and murmers before the group dispatched.  
  
  
  


~*~

  
  
  
  
"Ok class, are we all here?" Professor Sprout's mass of messy greying hair seemed slightly puffier than usual as she bustled about with the many pots infront of her. When no one replied, she nodded, "I take that as a yes then! Then let's get started now."  
  
Harry eyed the pots in front of Professor Sprout with a hint of curiousity, but the earmuffs next to them also reminded him of the annoying screeching sounds of the Mandrakes from his second year. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his robes before clearing his mind and paying complete attention to the lesson being given.  
  
"Now, you see here in front of me, pots." Professor Sprout waved a hand over the pots. "And then, the earmuffs. What does this suggest to you?"  
  
Everyone shifted slightly in confusion before a hand wavered in the air. "Ah yes, Longbottom?"  
  
"Um...possibly...something in the pot is going to make some horrible noise and make us deaf...?" Neville said uncertaintly, but Professor Sprout beamed.  
  
"Exactly! 10 points to Gryffindor! Now everyone grab a pair, but don't put them on yet. I still have some explaining to do. Now, who remembers what we tackled during your...second year if I remember clearly?"  
  
At once a hand shot up and Harry was startled to see that girl there again.  
  
"Yes Miss. Granger?"  
  
"Mandrakes, also known as Mandragora." She answered before setting her hand back down to her side. Harry stared at her silently.  
  
"Yes, that's correct. So it is very clearly shown at the moment, that the plant we will be dealing with for today's lesson, will be related in some way to the Mandrake, hence the earmuffs." Professor Sprout explained as she picked up a pair of creamy fluffy ones and placed them upon her ears. "I suggest you all wear them now, just in case."  
  
The shuffling of robes subsided after a few seconds as everyone had on a pair of multi-colored ear muffs. Harry's was a mint green, much to his distaste.  
  
"Ok class, this is very similiar to the way of unpotting a Mandrake," Professor Sprout stuck her hand into the pot and pulled, "And you simply pull, but not to hard, you might wake it."  
  
"Wake it?" Someone questioned.  
  
"Yes, wake it," Professor Sprout held up the creature she had just pulled out from the earth. Everyone stared at it wide-eyed, some burst out into giggling-fits.  
  
Something that resembled a Mandrake in a way, was hanging from two tuffs of green leaves that were firmly grasped in the professor's hand. Yet it wasn't shrieking in a high-pitched scream, it was simply quiet. It had its eyes closed, and the skin of it a very deep deep orange with little bubbles of yellow puss dotted about.  
  
"Does anyone know what this is?" Professor Sprout asked in a voice barely audible.  
  
Once again, Hermione raised her hand above the confused bundle of students. "It's a Floundrake, a relative to the Mandrake. Unlike its sister, it does not scream when it is unpotted from the earth, infact, it sleeps all year round. But of course, there is a way of waking it up. Like dipping it into bubotubor pus, which will awake it instantly and the familiar shrieking will be heard. Also, it'll be rid of those puss bubble things too."  
  
Professor Sprout smiled brightly at Hermione, "Excellent! Very very well explained! 10 points to Gryffindor for that wonderful explanation from Miss. Granger!" Hermione glowed.  
  
Harry looked amused, Hermione Granger seemed to know everything.  
  
"What Miss. Granger has said is absolutely correct, and here I have some bubotubor pus in these buckets, careful not to spill it on yourself. Leave your ear muffs on while handling these nasty little things at all times, understood?" Everyone nodded, eager to begin. "You will be placed into groups of four!"  
  
The groups got called, and students quickly made their way to their groups. Harry found himself with Hermione, Susan Bones from Hufflepuff, and another Hufflepuff girl he couldn't recognize, which wasn't a surprise because he didn't seem to remember people even from his own house.  
  
"Ok, I guess we better hurry so we have enough time to take notes afterwards," Hermione fussed as she put on her gloves hastily and placed the pot infront of the group.   
  
"Who's going to do the pulling?" The Hufflepuff girl questioned while biting the bottom of her lip.  
  
Susan crossed her arms, "I never tried doing this stuff, neither has Melly." She pointed to the girl who had just spoke up. "Actually, last time I tried pulling that Mandrake out, it didn't budge."  
  
Hermione frowned slightly, glancing at Harry. "Well, do you want to?" She asked quickly.  
  
"Er...sure," Harry blinked and found himself situated infront of the pot. _It won't be that bad... _  
  
He made sure his earmuffs were secure, as he glanced nervously at his group which was staring intently down into the pot. Harry sucked in a breath before reaching into the damp earth and yanked with all his might.  
  
He noticed he had closed one eye but kept another open and he sighed with relief as he saw that it was still sleeping contently in his grasp. "Ok...so.."  
  
"Shh, don't wake it," Hermione took the leaves in her hands and Harry relaxed even more, glad that the creature was no longer in his care. "Someone bring the bucket over..."  
  
Melly nodded and turned around, yet Harry noticed that the bucket was right behind her foot which sent the whole bucket of bubotubor pus flat onto the ground with a loud _clang!   
  
_Susan shrunk back, Harry held his breath, but it was Hermione who broke the silence by letting out a startled cry. Everyone turned their attention towards the head girl who was desperately trying to let go of the Floundrake which had woken up from the sudden commotion.  
  
It was shrieking with all its might, hissing and spitting all over Hermione. Harry noticed at once that the strange creature didn't spit out nice normal junk, but the stuff that it did spit out seemed to burn the cloth of Hermione's robes.  
  
"Hermione! Your robes!" Harry pointed out in shock.  
  
Hermione, noticing the small holes starting to appear where the Floundrake spat, looked about in horror. She stared helplessly around her as she flung her arms away from herself, but the Floundrake clung on.  
  
Harry jammed his hand into his pocket and pulled out his wand, thinking desperately for a spell to stop it all. "Uh...um...Imprevius!" He shouted and pointed towards Hermione.  
  
The Floundrake gave another shuddering cough and another yellow blob came out from its mouth and was about to land on Hermione's shoulder, but it simply bounced off. She shot Harry a thankful look just as Professor Sprout came running towards them. "What is the matter! Oh dear! It's awake!"  
  
Everyone stood back as Professor Sprout threw a bucket of dragon dung compost towards the Floundrake and Hermione. At once the shrieking was silenced and Hermione realized the evil little thing had fallen asleep.  
  
"Works like a charm," Professor Sprout muttered while lifting the creature from Hermione's arms. "You better get yourself fixed up Miss. Granger before your next class. I do say your robes need mending."  
  
Hermione sighed and sank back into a bench behind her. "Oh goodness that was embarrassing!" She brushed off the dirt from her hair in frustration.  
  
"..Well, you were brave."  
  
"What?" She glanced up towards the speaker and noticed that it was Harry. "Oh right, thank you very much for helping me then..if not, I think I wouldn't have what's left of my robes." She chuckled slightly before squinting her eyes. "You're Harry right?"  
  
He stared and nodded numbly causing her to laugh slightly. "What?" He asked in confusion.  
  
"I don't know, you just seem a bit dazed," Hermione smiled before standing up and gathered her things. "I better go search up a spell that can repair robes before Arithmancy. See you, Harry." She waved and was out of the greenhouse in an instance.  
  
Harry nodded again, even though she wouldn't have seen. "See you...Hermione." And for once he felt that he did something more than being invisible.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
AN: Yes it's rather boring now, but it's just getting into it you know. Hehe, introductory and all that. Hope you liked it and please review :)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Unexpected Gift

  
  
  
  
  
AN: I'm so happy that some people are actually reading this..hehe well I might be updating kind of slowly because of school work and all that, but I'll try my best :) Enjoy~  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters in Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling does. The plot and any extra characters belong to me :)  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
Underneath it All  
Chapter Three: Unexpected Gift

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Check mate!" A red head exclaimed with a broad grin plastered across his freckled face while he sat back in triumph. "Told ya you couldn't beat me, the master at wizard's chess. But you just had to push it Hermione."  
  
Hermione scowled and shook her head disprovingly. "Don't let this get over your head Ronald Weasley."  
  
Ron made a face. "Don't call me that!"  
  
"Ronny," Hermione looked satisfied at Ron's grimace.  
  
"Oh stop it...Herms!" Ron smirked as he retaliated.  
  
"Oh no you don't Ronnily," Hermione placed her hands on her hips while shooting Ron daggers with her eyes.  
  
The red headed boy raised an eyebrow. "Ronnily? That's a new one." Ron pointed out and shrugged. "But really, KneeKnee, do you have time to be fooling around with me right now?"  
  
"KneeKnee?!" Hermione shrieked and jumped off the velvet red chair of the Gryffindor Common Room. "That's it! I really _don't_ have time to have childish quarrels with you, so if you would exuse me..."  
  
"Right indeed KneeKnee," Ron smirked again as he knew he had hit the right string at last. "Oh Hermione! You're impossible!"  
  
She shot him a glare before tucking her bushy hair behind her ears. "In that case, you're even more impossible. I think you should start studying for our upcoming Potions quiz that Snape so generously offered to us."  
  
Ron's shoulders fell at the reminder of the quiz that Professor Snape had suddenly wanted them to write. "It's insane! I mean, it's the first week back from holidays! We've only taken what? One page of notes!" He cried in exasperation.   
  
"That's why it won't be such a pain for that little pea brain of yours," She replied while smoothing out her robes and examining them expectantly.  
  
"Oh right, you fixed them!" Ron realized as he eyed Hermione's crisp unwrinkled robes. It looked even newer and cleaner than his.  
  
"Oh a simple mending charm did the trick," Hermione said with a wave of her hand.  
  
Ron nodded, "Bloody brilliant I do say."  
  
"Yeah, but really, thank Harry."  
  
"What?" He blinked.  
  
"I said- thank Harry! Is that also hard to understand?" Hermione rolled her eyes while picking up her books quickly, the weight of them pulling her down slightly.  
  
Ron scratched his head thoughtfully before saying, "Harry...uh... oh Harry! That guy who was in your class today?"  
  
"Yes, of course...you know, it is rather strange how we never really noticed him through all these years isn't it? I mean he's not a _stranger_, but it feels like it." Hermione said in wonder.  
  
"He's just awfully awfully quiet, that's all. He blends into things too." He added with a chuckle. "So he like, grabbed that thing off you or what?"  
  
"No, he used a spell, unlike you who probably would have tried to grab that Floundrake off!" Hermione shifted the books around her hands before standing straighter. "Use your brain Ron, I mean you have one, just wake it up. And I really better go now, see you at dinner!"  
  
Ron simply nodded as Hermione headed towards the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
  
  
  


~*~

  
  
  
  
Harry sighed as he waved his wand over the fork infront of him for the twentieth time. It stood up on its pointed end and shriveled up into a ball.  
  
He glared at the fork and stretched his stiff arms. "How am I suppose to change this fork into turkey dinner!" Harry poked the fork with the end of his wand, causing sparks to erupt and bounce off the fork. He really didn't dislike Transfiguration, but he just wasn't...talented in it. Infact, Harry noticed he wasn't talented in alot of things.  
  
Professor McGonagall had assigned them homework, which was what Harry was trying to do at the very moment. He was really trying to clear his mind from the events of the past week, but something or another would slip into his mind and then the fork would quiver and change into something else other than a delicious turkey dinner.  
  
"Guess I could try it again..." Harry raised his hand determinedly and waved it over the shriveled fork just as his emerald eyes caught sight of an awfully familiar girl coming into the library. Hermione.  
  
"Oh hi Harry!" Hermione smiled brightly while setting down her books on the same table as him, but a few seats away. "Oh that's really pretty."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"That rose underneath your nose," Hermione pointed with a strange look in her eyes. "I mean, it's yours isn't it?"  
  
Harry blinked as he looked down the end of his nose and saw a delicate glass rose sitting in place exactly where his shriveled up fork had once been. "Oh! That...I mean, it was..er.."  
  
Hermione came over for a closer look and placed it on her hands. "Where did you get this? I've never seen any glass item so delicately carved..." Her voice faded away as she ran one finger around a petal.  
  
"Er...youcanhaveit!!"  
  
"Pardon?" She switched her gaze from the rose to Harry who seemed to be an awful shade of red at the moment.   
  
Harry sighed and let out a breath. "You can have it." He said with a shrug. "If you don't want it I can just...change it into something else."  
  
"I can have it?" Hermione asked in shock. "But it's yours!"  
  
"I uh...don't have use for these things anyways. I found it," He lied quickly. "Just sitting on this table when I arrived, and I guess I was marveling its beauty too."  
  
"Oh..." She blushed a light shade of pink before returning to her seat. "Then..thank you I guess."  
  
A small smile played at the ends of Harry's lips. "It's nothing really."  
  
Hermione nodded and quickly dipped her head behind a book, not wanting to waste anymore time than she already had. A quill was already in her hand and a piece of fresh new parchment was laid in front of her, with the glass rose sitting beside her left hand.   
  
The library was silent after that, except for the occasional scratching sounds of quill on parchment, and the coughs coming from Madam Pince. Harry sat there and it slowly dawned on him that he had just given away his Transfiguration homework to the girl sitting a few feet away from him. He groaned inwardly, not knowing what to do. He couldn't walk up to the girl and ask for it back...that was plain rude. But what would he say to Professor McGonagall?   
  
_I turned it into a rose accidentally and gave it to a girl. _Harry thought and knew at once the whole class would probably erupt into laughter and 'ooooohs'. Then again, he could always steal a fork at dinner...yes, that was set. He would simply take his fork with him after dinner and continue his attempts with Transfiguration.  
  
"Why are you muttering about a fork?" The question snapped Harry out of his revere.  
  
"What? Did I say something?"  
  
Hermione closed the huge textbook she had been reading through and nodded, "Kind of. I just caught a few words, mostly the word 'fork' and something of that sort. Are you hungry?" She glanced around her shoulder to the big clock hanging over head. "But that's no surprise since dinner's about to start in ten minutes."  
  
"Uh...yeah...well..." Harry felt bad for lying again in the same day and to the same person, so he sighed and spoke, "No actually..it's Transfiguration." He confessed.  
  
"What about it?"  
  
"I'm having trouble with the assignment," Harry muttered sheepishly and as quickly as possible while avoiding Hermione's eyes at the same time.  
  
"Oh! That thing? It's actually quite simple once you get the hang of it!" Hermione said smartly as she pushed her chair back. "How about let's go to dinner and then we can return to Gryffindor Tower and I can give you some help?"  
  
"Really?" Harry questioned and he realized he shouldn't have spoke up so soon. He looked at his feet again.   
  
Hermione stood up and tilted her head, "Of course, it won't take up too much time."  
  
"...Thanks," Harry uttered.  
  
"Well, let's just say it's me showing thanks to you for giving me this," Hermione picked up the glass rose and tucked it securely into the pocket of her robes and looked up again to meet Harry's gaze.  
  
Harry quickly broke the gaze by turning his attention to the clock once again. "Two minutes left to get to the Great Hall."  
  
"I'll race you there!" Harry stood dumbfounded on the spot before he realized what Hermione had just said as he broke into a run after her.  
  
_She is one strange girl...   
  
  
_

~*~

  
_   
  
_Dinner at Hogwarts had never gone by so slowly as it was tonight. Harry found himself holding his fork and moving it in a circular motion around his peas and carrots. He didn't know why, but he had a great urge to jump up and tell everyone to get back to Gryffindor Tower to sleep and stop eating.  
  
"Can you pass the salad?"  
  
Harry's eyes darted from his plate and his first glimpse was a mass of awfully red hair. He didn't say anything though, but simply handed the salad bowl towards the boy.  
  
"Thanks Harry," The boy grinned heartedly before scooping himself a big spoonful of salad and plopping in onto his plate.  
  
_He knows me...well my name! _Harry thought that this was very strange. No one knew his name except for the teachers, Neville, and...Hermione. Possibly some other people he didn't know of, but other than that..that was all.  
  
"Well, you_ are_ Harry right?" The boy looked uneasily at Harry.  
  
"Yeah.." Harry answered uncertainly, wondering how this boy knew his name. But Harry knew that the red head was obviously a Weasley. Everyone knew that if they saw a red head roaming Hogwarts, it was most likely part of the Weasley crowd. Yet Harry knew this Weasley a bit more than just..a Weasley. He had seen him before, out on the Quidditch field, and infact, Harry remembered that this Weasley was Keeper and captain for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.  
  
"And you're..." Harry began and the boy looked at him meekly.   
  
"Oh right! I'm Ron Weasley!" He stuck on his hand towards Harry and he shook it slowly.  
  
Ron sank back into his chair and noticed Harry's expression- a cross between confusion and shock. "What's the matter?"  
  
"Er..nothing really," Harry grabbed his forked and stuffed a spoonful of peas into his mouth before grimacing and having to swallow a whole goblet of pumpkin juice along with it.  
  
Ron chuckled, "Calm down, I'm not going to bite or something!"  
  
"...Right," Harry turned away in embarrassment and focused on Seamus Finnigan's nose.  
  
After a good few minutes of silence from Ron, Harry dared to turn back to his food but he was wrong that Ron had forgotten about him. "So, you saved Hermione didn't cha?"  
  
"I did?" Harry said bluntly.  
  
"Uh yeah. During Herbology!" Ron reminded. "How could you forget so soon?"  
  
"Oh that, well..it wasn't that big of a deal," Harry replied. "Anyone could have done it."  
  
Ron shook his head with wide eyes, "No way! I would have lunged at that Floundrake and tried to pull it off of her...ha, you can say I don't think before I act at times." He added sheepishly. "It wouldn't have been smart to have grabbed it neh?"  
  
"Well...you would probably get a few of those..puss bubbles all over your hands...but other than that, it's not life threatening," Harry smirked and Ron laughed.   
  
Maybe dinner wasn't going by too slowly, not with Ron Weasley at least.  
  
  


~*~

  
  
  
Harry for the first time had used his prefect status and ordered every fourth year and under to go to bed and leave the common room. It was getting horridly noisy with them around and impossible to concentrate on what Hermione was explaining to him.  
  
"Ok, that settles the noise," Harry muttered before sitting down again. "So where were we again?"  
  
"On the focusing part," Hermione said as she waved her wand over the fork. "See." The fork instantly changed into a nice steaming plate of turkey dinner. "Simple!" She exclaimed while sniffing the fumes. "It doesn't smell bad either."  
  
"Easy for you to say...I noticed you're like a dictionary!"   
  
Hermione raised her eyebrows before changing the plate of food back into a fork. "A dictionary?"  
  
"Well yeah...you just kind of seem to know stuff," Harry explained before raising his own wand. He closed his eyes slightly, trying to think of that steaming plate of turkey dinner while he waved his wand over the fork.  
  
"Oooh! Pretty close Harry!" Hermione exclaimed and Harry's eyes snapped open completely.   
  
A plate with a carrot had replaced the fork, and Harry's face broke into a grin. "I guess that's the best I've done for the day isn't it?"  
  
"Mm hmm, you're getting there," Hermione beamed. "Really!"  
  
"Yeah, thanks," Harry gave her a lop sided smile, and Hermione's eyes shifted quickly away from his face to the carrot. "Is something wrong?" He asked, noticing her sudden silence.  
  
"Oh nothing.." She quickly stood up and headed towards the potrait. "I think we should call it a night! You made great progress Harry and I think with a bit more practice you could master Transfiguration in no time."  
  
Harry turned red and simply uttered, "Good night."  
  
"Night," The portrait swung open and Hermione was gone and headed towards the Head Girl and Head Boy dormitories.  
  
He was the only one left in the common room by now, and as he made his way slowly up the stairs to the Prefect's section of the tower, he couldn't help but feel proud at his accomplishment.  
  
"Chicken Wings," He muttered to the portrait and it swung open revealing a nice warm room decorated in a similiar way as the Gryffindor common room. Harry flopped onto his bed without a second's glance and immediately jumped back onto his feet and rubbed his back.  
  
"Ow..." He muttered under his breath while scanning his bed sheets. A noticeable lump was visible from underneath and he quickly pulled the scarlet sheets back to reveal... "What? I don't remember taking out any books from the library at all."  
  
He picked one thick book up from the pile and squinted his eyes to make out the strange cursive writing across the top of the book. "History...of...the most...feared...dark wizards...of the...wizarding world." Harry shifted his glasses for they had slipped to the bridge of his nose.  
  
After a few minutes he had realized that most of the books from the mysterious pile were all quite similiar. On dark wizards and history on them. "I wonder who left them here? I mean, I think only Neville knows the password to my room cause he heard me mutter it once...but knowing Neville, he would have forgotten it right away, and he wouldn't take out so many books...and hide them under my bed." He pondered aloud in confusion.  
  
Yet nonetheless, he picked one up and walked slowly over to a couch against the wall and sat down. He opened the book in curiousity, and soon enough, he was drawn into the history of one of the most feared dark wizards of them all; Voldemort.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Quidditch Incident

  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters in Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling does. The plot and any extra characters belong to me :)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Underneath it All  
Chapter Four: Quidditch Incident

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry found himself sitting in alert attention well into the night with tired eyes. He quickly glanced to his alarm clock by his bedside table- 2:30 AM. Harry found himself letting out a yawn, but he didn't feel like going to bed just yet. Not when he was getting at an interesting part in the book.  
  
"He's so cruel..." He muttered under his breath as he continued reading under the section about Voldemort's murders. He had just finished reading a bit about Voldemort's childhood and found it rather normal. Who would've thought that the young boy would turn into the evilest wizard known to the wizarding world?  
  
_Voldemort, commonly known as you-know-who, struck terror to everyone's hearts with his mass killings and sometimes he would even wipe out entire wizarding villages. His attacks were random, and no one was able to predict where he and his death eaters were to attack next. All you-know-who's murders were done quickly and left with a dark mark hovering above the location of the attack. All bodies were left where they had fallen, except for one particular case. The Potters, a well respected wizarding family, were innocent enough and yet they were attacked nonetheless and wiped out completely. None were left alive, and all bodies were left at the scene except the body of the baby boy belonging to the Potters._  
  
Harry's finger traced every word with immense concentration and he could feel his eyes bulging as he quickly read on.  
  
_Lily Potter, wife of James Potter, was said to have given birth to a baby boy for just a year before the attack. The body of the boy was never found, yet the poor thing was probably lost under the pile of wreckage or most likely burned with the rest of the Potter Manor.  
_  
He grimaced at the thought of a baby being burned alive...the cries it must have shrieked..yet Harry wasn't lost in that thought, he was more dumbfounded at the last name of the family. The _Potter_ family. He was confused and so many possibilities were running through his exhausted mind.  
  
_James Potter and Lily Potter... _Harry traced his finger over the names slowly, almost...lovingly? He shook his head and sighed. What was he thinking? Maybe it was a coincidence...there must have been many families with the last name Potter out there somewhere. Yet Harry couldn't help but have a twinge of hope and he decided to read onto the next paragraph nonetheless.  
  
_But one of the most intruging things that occured during the night of the Potter's murder was that after it, you-know-who disappeared. He did not strike again and hasn't until this day. Many, espeically the Ministry of Magic, are convinced that you-know-who has suddenly lost power and is defeated. Though many doubt it, and still believe that you-know-who is out there somewhere in hiding, plotting to strike again. But all believe, that something must've happened at the Potter Manor, resulting to you-know-who's uncalled for disappearance.  
  
He disappeared...! _The thought ran wildly in Harry's thoughts, but then again, why should he care if some mad evil wizard was lose? No one else seemed to care, in fact, he only learned of this Voldemort person in some classes. But he did notice everyone still had great fear for they never spoke of him in name.  
  
"What's so bad about saying the name Voldemort anyways? I mean, even the textbook says that! That is plain weird," Harry mumbled as he shut the book and threw it onto the coffee table in front of him.   
  
He walked across the room to his closet and pulled out a pair of navy blue pajamas and quickly changed into them, the Potters and Voldemort still spinning around in his head.   
  
"Ugh," He tossed the other books off his bed and lazily threw the covers over himself. Tonight had been a long one, and he knew he had better fall asleep soon to be able to wake up for classes the next morning.  
  
_Voldemort... _Harry winced and he could have swore that he felt a throbbing pain somewhere near his forehead...almost as if his scar was hurting. He shook his head and rolled over, dismissing the thought and clamping his tired eyes shut.  
  
  


~*~

  
  
  
  
"Minerva, what books did you exactly put on Mr. Potter's bed?"   
  
Professor McGonagall stood silently by the headmaster of Hogwarts as they both stared intently at the sleeping boy. She walked towards the bed and picked up the books that were lying about on the carpet next to it. She walked back towards Professor Dumbledore who was sitting on one of the many lounge chairs in Harry's room.  
  
"Ah...I wonder which one he has read," Dumbledore waved his wand over the pile and one of the many books flew into his hand and flopped open to a certain page. "Ah, he has read about Voldemort."  
  
"I think the boy will be having many questions for us, Albus," Professor McGonagall noted in a whisper. "He must have noticed the names in this paragraph." She pointed a finger to a paragraph talking about the Potter's death.  
  
Dumbledore stared at the words intently, the twinkle in his eyes seemed so much more noticeable in the dim room. "It all depends on what the boy wants to believe."  
  
Professor McGonagall glanced from the book in Dumbledore's hands, to the sleeping boy who seemed to be so peaceful. "Is it really such a good idea...to let the boy know.."  
  
"Minerva, Minvera. He will know sooner or later, and I think it is best if we tell him first before...before any sudden..." Dumbledore suddenly looked older than he already was, his shoulders sagged a bit as his voice drifted off.  
  
"Before...any attacks?"   
  
Dumbledore sighed and nodded, "Yes, I know he is rising. I can feel it around us Minerva, and we must be prepared."  
  
Professor McGonagall looked at the wise eyes of Albus Dumbledore wearily. "The-boy-who-lived will finally know of his existence..."  
  
  


~*~

  
  
  
"Ron calm down!" A red headed girl complained as she shook her head.  
  
"I can't Ginny! Don't you see, it's the first game of the season!" Ron said with his hands in the air. "And it's against those darn, evil, weird, insane Slytherins!!"  
  
Hermione looked over to Ginny with a tired look. "Oh please Ron! How many matches have you played? Why are you so fidgety now!"  
  
"No! It's just that...it's just that...it's my last year here at Hogwarts! I want to...I don't know what I want! I mean I want.."  
  
"To leave in a _bang_ like our wonderful brothers Fred and George?" Ginny said sarcastically.  
  
"Exactly! I mean Ginny, you're only a sixth year so you don't know the anxiety of being a seventh year! It's just this desire to do something out of the ordinary you know?" Ron explained as he flopped down on the couch across from where Hermione was sitting with a book in her lap.  
  
"Well, just relax or else you're not going to be able to keep those ..what do you call those things? Waffles?"  
  
"Quaffles," Ron corrected, knowing that Hermione was never a big Quidditch fan.  
  
"Yeah, Quaffles," Hermione said carefully. "Yeah those things! If you're so nervous you probably won't be able to do whatever you do to them!"  
  
Ron looked at Hermione, "Goodness Hermione! You've watched all my games and you still don't get what I do! I try to stop them from getting into the goal posts!"  
  
"Um right," She nodded swiftly while Ginny just giggled. "And Ginny, you just...fly around?"  
  
Ginny just shook her head, a smile still on her face. "Really Hermione! You're so smart but sometimes you're so slow!" Hermione just stuck her tongue out and said, "Well?"  
  
"Well, I'm a Chaser, but I'm not going to bother telling you what I do because you'll probably forget by tomorrow," Ginny teased while Hermione pretended to look mad.  
  
"Fine!! Both of you Weasleys are ganging up on me, aren't you!" Hermione snapped while opening her book and pretending to be reading intently.  
  
"Oh Hermione! Stop reading for once," Ron sighed as he snatched the book away from Hermione. "What is this stuff that you read anyways?" He glanced down and looked at Hermione. "You're on Chapter 31! Bloody hell! We're only suppose to be on Chapter 5!"  
  
Hermione shrugged, "Well it doesn't hurt to get ahead does it?"  
  
"Unlike you Ron, you're probably on Chapter 0," Ginny looked at her brother with a chuckle. "Anyways, when do we have to get down to the pitch?"  
  
"After lunch," Ron started fidgeting with his fingers at the mention of the Quidditch match that very afternoon. "Ugh I wish Angelina and everyone else was still here!"  
  
"Yeah...too bad they had to graduate! But I don't mean our present team is any worse...I just miss their enthusiasm," Ginny said while she fingered her broom, a Nimbus 2000. She had been polishing it for the last twenty minutes to be exact.  
  
Ron seemed really nervous now as he glanced at the clock. They had a spare block right now, which meant no classes, but the clock said that it was five minutes until lunch. "Get a grip on yourself!" Hermione muttered. "You'll be fine!"  
  
"Ok, yeah, I'll be fine! I'm going to go get the rest of the team and give them a pep talk," Ron announced as he got up and left the head girl room.  
  
Ginny frowned, "He's turning into another Oliver Wood so it seems."  
  
  


~*~

  
  
Harry seemed ridiculously excited, just like the whole school was. Lunch was just being cleared away and lots of students were already heading out towards the Quidditch Pitch.   
  
He was an avid fan of Quidditch, and Harry couldn't help but feel a little twinge of jealousy when he watched the teams speed off and do a lap around the field. The wind blowing at their determined faces, and the crowds cheering and waving banners showing their support. Harry, obviously, supported the Gryffindors, and most of the school's population did too.  
  
Sometimes, much to his embarrasment, he could imagine himself soaring above the stands and waving down to the people that were waving scarlet and gold banners..yet just as the image appeared it would disappear again. Harry sighed and joined the crowd of people leaking out of the mass doors.  
  
"Good afternoon my fellow Hogwarts students and professors!!" The familiar voice of Lee Jordan's boomed out across the field. He had already graduated Hogwarts just last year, but came back ocassionally to commentate the matches.  
  
"It's the first match of the season, and it's Gryffinder versus Slytherin! Oh look at that, there seems to be a greater number of Gryffindor supporters aren't there?! YEAH!!"   
  
Professor McGonagall shot him a stern look which caused Lee Jordan to smile sheepishly and continue. "The stands are all packed, and here comes...Captain Weasley! Another Weasley, Finnigan, MacDonald, Smith, Creevey, and Thomas!" The scarlet robed team came shooting out and were already lapping the field with wide grins.  
  
"And then comes Captain Malfoy, Bulstrode, Baddock, Zabini, Pritchard, Yu, and Bole!" The Slytherin team dressed in green shot out and did their lap with glints in their eyes and a couple of them had very foul looking smirks on their faces.  
  
"Madam Hooch is approaching the field! And...she releases the Quaffle and the game BEGINS!!" Lee Jordan announced as the field was immediately live with action.  
  
"Weasley in possession of the Quaffle! Oh no! Those dirty Slytherins, look what...WHAT! HEY! Oh good, Creevey has regained the Quaffle and is now heading towards the goal posts! AND THERE WE GO! A wonderful goal tossed in by Colin Creevey bringing the score up to 10-0 Gryffindor!"  
  
"WATCH IT FINNIGAN! DAMN! THAT BLOODY GOOD FOR NOTHING BULSTRODE!"  
  
"JORDAN!"  
  
"Sorry professor," he muttered. "I WOULD THINK THAT WAS A FOUL! But anyways, Finnigan has regained his balance on his broom, thanks for Miss. Zabini and her BLOODY BLUDGER!!"  
  
"Now, Slytherin in possession, with Baddock speeding off towards the Gryffindor goals, he passes to Yu, Yu passes to Bole, they're getting ready to score...and YES! Wonderful save done by Gryffindor's captain, Ronald Weasley!"  
  
Ron grinned as he shook his fist in the air in triumpth.   
  
The game went on steadily afterwards, the Slytherins were noticeably getting agitated. They seemed to be sending bludgers purposely in Ron's direction and their seeker, Dean Thomas.  
  
"50-30, Gryffindor! COME ON GRYFFINDOR! You know you can do better than that! OUCH, THAT WAS A FOUL TO GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
Ginny easily made the shot into the hoop, gaining Gryffindor another ten points. Ron glanced over towards Dean who was squinting in frustration at not seeing the snitch. "You could catch that thing right about now, Dean!"  
  
"I'm trying! It's just that..." However he didn't finish his sentence before he suddenly sped off in the direction of the Slytherin goal posts.  
  
Ron silently cheered for he knew that Dean had caught sight of the snitch. He glanced nervously towards the Slytherin seeker and cursed under his breath that he too, had seen it.  
  
"Come on Dean!!"  
  
"It looks like the seekers on hot on the snitch's tail!! In fact, Malfoy is now gaining in on Thomas, and now they're side by side and fighting their way towards the snitch!!"  
  
Ron winced as he watched Malfoy ram his body into Thomas, causing him to swerve towards his right. There was a smirk on Malfoy's face and a scowl on Dean's.  
  
Nobody noticed it happen, but suddenly two bludgers came speeding towards their direction and it hit Dean Thomas square in the chest and head, sending him completely off course and into the wall of the stands.  
  
"BLOODY HELL!!" Ron cursed and flew as quickly as he could towards his fallen teammate.  
  
Madam Hooch blew her whistle with Madam Pomfrey following right behind her with a nasty scowl on her face. "You kids just can't play safe can you?!"   
  
"Is he ok?!" Ginny landed swiftly on the ground and quickly joined her brother's side.  
  
"Doesn't look too good.." Ron muttered as he glared towards the Slytherin beaters who were pretending to look shocked. "They're good for nothing prats I tell you."  
  
"We all know that Ron," Ginny replied sadly.  
  
A stretcher was conjured and Madam Promfrey was bringing the fallen seeker towards the Hospital Wing. "That didn't look good...not good at all." Seamus came up to them with a grim look across his face.   
  
"...I reckon we might need another seeker." Colin mumbled.  
  
Ron sighed and lifted his eyes away from the spot where Dean had landed in a heap. "I guess, if he doesn't recover in time for a rematch. And those bloody Slytherins! They're not going to get out of this easily, look what they did!"  
  
"I bet Snape will come to their rescue or something," Natalie MacDonald rolled her eyes.  
  
Ron just shook his head, "I'm pretty sure Dumbledore will do something about this. But now I'm just worrying about our seeker."  
  
"Poor Dean.." Everyone mumbled as they watched the crowd of students slowly heading back towards the castle with everyone chatting nervously about the "incident".  
  
"We're just going to have to find another darn good seeker, fast."  
  
  
  
  
AN: And let's wonder who that seeker will be.......hehehehe.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	5. Dreaming

  
  
  
  
AN: Ok, explanation time =P Yesh, alot of you have been wondering why Harry is so darn slow and rather...stupid I guess to not realize that he's related to the Potter's in the book, or why he has a scar and all that complicated stuff about his past! Well, here is my explanation to the madness -_-!   
In my story, Harry follows the same idea as in- growing up with the Dursleys. The Dursleys used the same lame excuse saying that Harry's parents died in a car accident. Harry, being told that at a young age and being the quiet person he is, simply nods it off and lets his own thoughts come up with explanations of his parent's death. (He has tried many times to figure out who his parents were and how they died, but was unable to- the reason will be revealed later on in the story) As said in Ch.1, Harry does realize he has a funky looking scar on his forehead but merily thinks of it as "a funky looking scar". Basically, he hasn't been told much about his childhood at all. And then many of you must think, then why doesn't he demand to know? Well in my story, Harry isn't as...brave yet and everything, he's more enclosed and timid. If he asks anything about his parents, the Dursleys will simply glower at him and Harry would just slink away. Hope that explains a few questions floating in your heads =)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters in Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling does. The plot and any extra characters belong to me :)  
  
  
  
  


Underneath it All  
Chapter Five: Dreaming

  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry, very much like the rest of the students, were shocked and furious with what had happened to Dean Thomas, the Gyffindor Seeker. Everyone was muttering and shooting daggers towards the Slytherin table during dinner that very evening, yet the Slytherins just had a triumphant look written all across their faces, even though they hadn't won.  
  
There was to be a rematch as soon as Dean recovered, and everyone hoped that it was soon. Harry scanned his eyes over his house members and noticed that the Quidditch team was no where in sight. He shrugged, _ Probably with Dean...  
  
_Harry glanced up when he heard the familiar voice of Hermione Granger, in fact it was the laughter of Hermione that caught his attention. She was surrounded by a couple girls from Gryffindor house, in which Harry recognized as Lavender, Parvati, and the two other girls he had met on the Hogwarts Express.  
  
_She's the prettiest of them all..._Harry thought matter-of-factly, then caught himself quickly and realized he was blushing. _God, what I'm a saying?! This is Hermione Granger, head girl, of course she's pretty! NO! I mean, ugh... _He shook his head in frustration as he quickly ignored the conversation from the girls a few feet away from him.  
  
"Oh no!!!"  
  
Ginny Weasley had run up to the table with a devastated look written across her face, her blue eyes very wide. "What is it Gin?" Hermione asked at once.  
  
The red head's sudden arrival had caused most of Gryffindor House to turn their heads and watch her with immense curiousity. "It's Dean! And Ron too! He's having a fit!"  
  
"A fit? Who? Dean or Ron?" Parvati questioned quickly, her usual bright voice suddenly came out rather urgent and worried.  
  
"Ron of course! Dean...well...he wouldn't be capable of having a fit now even if he wanted to!" Ginny wailed and shook her head despairingly. "Dean's in a coma, apparently that bludger that rammed into his head caused some of his blood veins to clot or something like that! I wasn't really listening to Madame Promfrey when she explained the details! But I think I understood the part that Dean was lucky enough to be alive even!"  
  
"A coma?!" Hermione gaped.  
  
Lavender paled, "Dean...? In a coma?"  
  
"Madame Promfrey says she doesn't know when he'll wake, and she's tried her best to fix him up. I mean he won't have any more broken bones by tomorrow morning, since they're fixable. But the inner damage is severe...they fear he's never going to wake again!" Ginny finished looking as if she had just ran a marathon for she was panting from the effort at saying everything so quickly.  
  
"Then Ron is going crazy for Dean's well-being and the Quidditch team! By this rate, if Dean doesn't wake up soon in time for the rematch, Madame Hooch will obviously tell us to get another seeker! And well...there just doesn't seem to be anybody else with the skills!" Ginny sighed in exasperation. "And now Ron's snapping at anyone that goes near him!"  
  
"Oh no..." Rina muttered. "Ron's crazy when he's in that mood."  
  
Hermione frowned, "I hate it when Ron acts like that! I mean, he should just settle down and relax and think of a solution!"  
  
"Easy for you to say Hermione! You know Ron's temper and how he tends to act like a child at times," Ginny said in rather wise tone. "I mean, being his little sister and all, I sometimes feel like his mother!"  
  
"Hallo my fellow Gryffindors."  
  
They turned their heads at their sudden interuption and caught sight of Seamus coming up to them with a rather tired expression. "I _had_ to come here. I couldn't stand another sentence coming out from Ron. Now he's getting all...all bouncy!"  
  
"Bouncy?" Parvati raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Bouncy in a bad way though. Not like he's jumping around in glee," Seamus rolled his eyes. "He's getting all nervous because Madame Hooch came up to the Hospital Wing to see how Dean was doing. To her belief, she thinks Dean won't be awake until months and so...she's scheduled the rematch to be taken place in...a week and a half."  
  
"WHAT?!" Ginny cried out in alarm, causing all the house tables to shift their attention towards them.  
  
"What is it _now_ WEASLEY?! Scared of a little more action?!" Someone from the Slytherin table hollered over to them.  
  
Ginny spun around and glared at the Slytherin table with immense hatred. "Ooooh! I hate those nasty snake-eyed.._.things_!! They don't deserve to be human!!"  
  
Hermione sighed as she witnessed the scene. It didn't seem to be a good time for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team at all.  
  
  


~*~

  
  
  
  
The tired seventeen year old teen stretched his arms while stiffling a yawn. Harry Potter had just retired to Gryffindor common room after a long class of double Potions in which he had lost 20 points to Gryffindor for being "immensely stupid" according to Snape. The potions master seemed to despise the Gryffindors even more lately, probably because of the 150 points that were taken off from Slytherin for foul play during the Quidditch match.  
  
Harry didn't feel like going up to his room just yet. In fact he was staring at the notice board right beside the boy's bathrooms of Gryffindor Tower. There were many pieces of lose paper tacked onto the board with sayings like "_I lost my toad, if you find him, please contact Neville Longbottom_ . " or notes that simply read "_meet me in the library after lunch_ ". However, one caught Harry's eyes the most. And that was the messily written message that read '_Gryffindor Seeker tryouts- Wednesday November 16 at lunchtime. Eat_ _your lunch quickly and meet me out on the pitch_ _before 12:30 noon. Bring your broom, and if you don't have one, there will be school rented brooms available. Thank you, Ron Weasley.'  
  
_He really didn't know what he was thinking of, and why he was too, but he had a mad desire to tryout. Harry chuckled under his breath. _Harry Potter, Hogwarts most famous idiot/loser, becomes Gryffindor seeker! _ He couldn't help but find that thought amusing, yet depressing too. But what if he did get to become seeker? Quidditch was his favorite sport, he would die to be on the team, die to even get to play! All Harry had ever done was learn how to fly, and he noticed that back in their first year he had been quite good at it too. Maybe..maybe this was his chance to show everyone what he was capable of?  
  
_ Damnit, I'm just going to make a fool out of myself._ Harry's brow furrowed in deep thought as his eyes wandered to the neon orange notice again. _But...it doesn't hurt to try...right? But what if Ron just stares and asks 'Uh why are you here?' and when you tell him you want to try out he'll laugh his head off? ...Well does that matter? OF COURSE IT DOES...but why? I don't know...I don't need another event for people to point their fingers at me and stare at me as if I was...Snape dressed in a frilly pink dress. _  
  
Harry sighed.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
Harry jumped slightly at the sudden soft voice that interupted him. But he could recognize that voice anywhere nowadays. "Er...what?" Was the only words he could stutter as he met Hermione's concerned gaze.  
  
"I don't know, you just seemed out of it," She shrugged as she dropped her book bag down beside her. "I just came back from the library mind you, and I heard you mutter and sigh."  
  
"Oh...er...well it's nothing," Harry stared at the bulging bag and then back at Hermione's bright face.  
  
"Oh, I see," She seemed to have noticed Harry's observant eyes on her bag. "Yeah, I have a huge essay to do for Muggle Studies! But it's really fascinating! And it's not that hard since I'm muggle born."  
  
"Really?" Asked Harry in amazement. How could such a perfect witch be muggle born?  
  
Hermione simply nodded and glanced at Harry's expression. "What? Do you have something against muggle borns...if you do.."  
  
"No, no! Of course not...I'm not like Malfoy.." His voice trailed off as he nearly spat out the name.  
  
"Exactly! That good for nothing prat! So you've met him?"  
  
"Not exactly a good thing," Harry pointed out with a scowl. "I see him teasing muggle borns every time I see his face!"  
  
Hermione frowned deeply, "I just don't understand why he's so...so bad!! Just cause he's pure blooded...ugh!" She huffed.  
  
Harry thought she looked rather cute that way but quickly dismissed the thought just as the portait hole swung open and revealed Ron.  
  
"'Mione! Just the person I needed to see! Thank bloody hell!" Ron sighed in relief and caught sight of Harry. "Oh, hey Harry."  
  
Harry nodded and noticed that Ron was looking bewildered and his flaming red hair seemed awfully ruffled. Hermione eyed her friend once over and sighed, "Really Ron! You have to learn to take care of yourself! You're what? Seventeen!"  
  
"I am taking care of myself! I'm just damn mad at those.."  
  
"Ron!" Hermione snapped in dispproval.  
  
"Ok, ok! I'm just ..._extremely_...mad at those Slytherins! Is that ok mam'?" Ron muttered in annoyance as he literally fell onto the cushioned seat behind him.  
  
"Is Dean ok?" Harry broke the sudden silence.  
  
"No, he's in a coma," Ron was staring hard at the mahogany table in front of him. "Darn those Slytherins! I say their whole team should be suspended!"  
  
"Well we know that'll never happen Ron, " Hermione had hulled her book bag onto her shoulder and looked just about ready to leave. "I'm leaving now, and I expect to see that you've done at least something with your Muggle Studies essay."  
  
Ron groaned, "Hermione! Give me a break, ok! The only reason I even decided to take Muggle Studies was because of you and your endless persuasions to take it! And now I'm stuck writing an essay about tebelvicun!"  
  
"Tebelvicun?" Harry shifted his glasses and blinked.  
  
"He means television," Hermione corrected before heading towards the potrait.  
  
"Where are you going?" Ron asked with slight interest.  
  
"My room," Was her short reply before she was out of sight.  
  
Ron sighed and leaned back in his arm chair. "She is so weird sometimes!"  
  
"...I..I guess," Harry shrugged. What could he say about a girl he didn't know much about?  
  
"Tryouts are in two days, it's really rushed isn't it? I wonder who would even want to tryout, with the incident concerning Dean and all that...everyone's probably scared out of their knickers," Ron looked distressed as he glanced at the notice board.  
  
"No, well, even I would like to try out," Harry blurted out.  
  
Ron suddenly sat up straighter. "You? Harry? Tryout?"  
  
Harry shrunk back in his seat, turning redder by the second. "Ok, I know, it's lame."  
  
"NO! NOT AT ALL!!" Ron nearly yelled as he leapt up from his seat and clapped Harry on the back. "That's the kind of bravery we need nowadays! So you're really going to try out?!"  
  
"Er...I'm..I.." Harry glanced at Ron's hopeful face and sighed. "Er...I guess so."  
  
"GREAT! Thanks for getting me back on my feet Harry, I think maybe more people will try out now! I mean, even you do!" Ron half walked half skipped up the stairs to the boy dormitories, leaving a shocked Harry behind.  
  
"Was that a compliment or were you criticizing me?" Harry wondered out loud. _He must be desperate to be that excited about me trying out..._  
  
That was when it dawned on him once again, at what he had just gotten himself into. "Oh great! I'm not even sure if I can fly straight on a broom and now I'm trying out to be a _seeker_!"   
  
Harry scratched his head stressfully._ I've really gone mad..._  
  
  
  


~*~

  
  
  
_"Harry Potter..."_  
  
_He could feel his feet moving quicker as the voice hissed out his name, cold beaded sweat rolled down the side of his cheek and to his chin. He shivered slightly, although he didn't feel cold, in this case, he felt...nothing. Neither cold nor warmth seemed to exist anymore._  
  
_"I've been waiting."_  
  
_All at once a bright light abrupted from nowhere and his eyes were blinded by the sudden contact of light. His arms mentally shifted to shield his eyes from the light, but soon the light seemed normal and he was able to look around him.  
  
"Where am I?" He heard his own voice mutter and echo back towards him in the vast room filled with marble sculptures of snakes, so detaily carved it seemed impossible. The marble tiling reflected his appearance as he glanced down at its smooth entire.  
  
"I've been waiting." The same voice repeated in a whisper that sounded almost like a hiss from a snake. "For many years Harry Potter. I've waited...seventeen years."  
  
He could feel himself holding his breath, not really knowing where he was, and why he was here. Who did that voice belong to? "Who..who are you?" He was quite surprised he could actually speak in this situation, for he was head to toe in fright._  
  
_"Fool..." The voice muttered. "They were all fools, not to have told you of my existense long before now. They have made a great mistake to not warn...the-boy-who-lived."  
  
"What?" He found himself question.  
  
"I am surprised at Dumbledore," The voice merily ignored his questions. "that he has chosen not to tell you of me earlier..warn you...tell you your...destiny."  
  
"...My what?"  
  
"Destiny you fool!" The voice boomed and he felt his ear drums vibrate with the defening echo of the voice. "They all believe that your destiny is to defeat me...that you are their savior. They are so foolish, so pathetically stupid...even Albus Dumbledore."  
_  
_"Professor Dumbledore?"  
  
"Your end is drawing near Mr. Potter, I suggest you live the rest of it in pain," The voice laughed with such venom that he felt his whole being turn cold and a shooting pain resulted on his forehead.  
  
And this time, he was sure of it. It was his scar that was burning.  
  
Why?  
  
  
  
  
  
_AN: The tryouts will be in the next chapter and possibly Harry will confront Dumbledore in the next chapter =) So stayed tooned and review! Thank you!!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	6. Tryouts and Troubles

  
  
  
  
** Important notice to those that want to continue reading this fic =P**  
Ok, so this will be the official last chapter I post on fanficiton.net. I've moved to portkey.org, an awesome fan fic shipping site for H/Hr, D/G, and L/J. So yes, good bye everyone! Unless you visit me at portkey I suppose =)!   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters in Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling does. The plot and any extra characters belong to me :)  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
Underneath it All  
Chapter Six: Tryouts and Troubles

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry Potter awoke muttering to himself as he reached towards his night table for his glasses in the grim darkness. He blinked, trying to see through the blackness of the room when he suddenly realized that his forehead felt awfully warm.  
  
"Ow.." He grumbled and winced in pain while he placed a tentative finger on his scar, almost frightened at why his scar tingled. Bringing down his finger, all his fears were confirmed. Blood. He knew it was blood. Blood from his scar that had never bled until now? Harry was confused, and memories of his dream came floating back to him.  
  
"It felt real...awfully real," Harry sat up and glanced out the window which he had forgotten to pull the curtains over. It was still dark out, and Harry assumed that it was probably four in the morning or so. "That voice..."  
  
He shook his head as he got out of bed. He might as well clean off the blood if he didn't want to scare anyone with a bleeding forehead. Harry reached the bathroom connected to his room and lazily turned on the lights, wincing as the brighness startled his weary eyes.  
  
His hair wasn't sticking up as high as usual, in fact it seemed slightly matted upon his head. A bit of the blood seemed to have dried but some was making its way slowly down towards the bridge of his nose. Not a very pretty sight.  
  
"Why is it bleeding.." Harry wondered out loud as he dabbed a damp cloth on the wound. "I mean...its been seventeen years since I've had this thing, and it has never caused me any trouble..." He finished cleaning off the wound and washed off the cloth hastily, flinging it onto one of the many racks against the wall afterwards. "Damn dreams..." He muttered while walking out of the washroom and back towards his messy bed.  
  
_But it seemed too real... _Harry sighed as he slipped under the scarlet covers once again, blinking at the white ceiling that stared back at him. _ Oh now you're just being a coward...you're seventeen and you're worrying over some weird...nightmare. _He rolled over onto his side and stared blankly at the wardrobe that met his gaze. _But it wasn't just a nightmare..it was real..darn real...I could feel it..Feel it? Geez Potter, when did you become the one to believe in these things that most likekly Tralawney would believe in? Maybe I'm getting that whole inner eye thing...ooo... _Harry rolled his eyes mentally to himself as he thought of Divination. Yet the thoughts quickly left his mind and was replaced with the cold voice that hissed like a snake... Your end is drawing near...dramatic person wasn't he? But that dream is just so..surreal..  
  
Harry Potter frowned as he took off his glasses and placed them silently onto the table next to him. He turned restlessly again, and realized that before he would even fall asleep or notice, the sun was up, and it was time to rise.  
  
  


~*~

  
  
  
Hermione shifted her honey brown eyes towards her freckled friend who was pacing rentlessly on the wet grass. She tilted her head, causing her bushy mass of hair to sway in that direction before she finally opened her mouth. "Ronald Weasley!"  
  
"What?! Yeah mom?" Ron answered, a sudden grin popped onto his face at Hermione's scowl. "Ok, ok! What Hermione?"  
  
"What are you doing?" She asked innocently, but the note of annoyance was not hidden from her voice.  
  
"I..I'm uh.."  
  
"Pacing back and forth on this Quidditch Pitch for the last half hour?! You're wasting time Ron! You could be..doing your Divination homework...or trying to.."  
  
Ron threw his arms up in the air and stared at Hermione, "Well I would love to be able to think straight like you, but right now my brain is doing flips!"  
  
"And so is your stomach," Hermione added as Ron's stomach growled.  
  
He smiled sheepishly at her and shrugged, "I guess I missed breakfast."  
  
"That's amazing! You. Missed. Breakfast!" Hermione exclaimed with wide eyes.  
  
"Yeah...so?"  
  
"But you're like...the bottomless pit!"  
  
Ron quirked an eyebrow at her. "I'll take that as a compliment 'Mione. But really, there's only fifteen minutes left before the tryouts, and no one except me and you, are out here!" He walked forwards a few steps, his scarlet Quidditch robes bellowing out behind him. "What am I going to do?!"  
  
"Oh stop worrying! They'll show up," Hermione encouraged as she flipped a page in her book.  
  
"What are you reading anyways?" Ron questioned with an air of curiousity. "Let me guess..you're on chapter 52 of _The Dark Arts: Unmasked_! Am I correct?!"  
  
Hermione glared at him in a friendly way but shook her head. "No, I'm actually re-reading _Hogwarts: A History_."  
  
"NO WAY! That would make it your...like...billionth time reading that bloody book!" Ron stared at his friend in disbelief. "I mean, no one could do that! Don't you ever get bored of that thing?!"  
  
"Not really, I mean...everytime I read it, I kind of get more out of it you know," Hermione replied with a smile. Ron just gave Hermione a glance and sighed. "Ten more minutes..." He muttered as he scanned the whole field.  
  
Hermione sighed and scanned the field. "Oh look!!" Her sudden exclamation startled Ron, causing him to jump slightly. "See Ron, someone's coming! And you were here pacing back and forth like some.."  
  
"HARRY!" Ron cut her off before she could finish, a wide grin on his face as he clapped a hand on the young man's back causing him to stumble forwards a few steps but he quickly regained his composure.  
  
"Harry?!" Hermione stared at the boy with messy dark hair standing in front of her.  
  
"...Yeah?" He stared at the two with confusion written across his face before scratched the back of his head. "Is there something wrong? Did I come at the wrong time? I was pretty sure the notice.."  
  
"No, no! Not at all," Ron interupted. "Hermione's probably just surprised because you it's yo.."  
  
"You came early!" Hermione quickly finished off for Ron while giving him a stern glance. "So uh, you're trying out?" She tried to keep the shock from her voice but she seemed to fail as Harry nodded with red cheeks.  
  
"I just..I don't know what got into me actually," Harry confessed as he leaned against the broom he had been holding. "I don't have a broom of my own, so I just borrowed one from the school if you don't mind.."  
  
Ron shook his head quickly, "Course not mate! A broom's a broom right? I mean, Firebolts are all that, but still, as long as you can fly!" He fingered his own Nimbus 2000 before grinning again. "So, you up to the challenge?"  
  
"Well, I guess," Harry replied, not much confidence in his voice. Hermione smiled softly, "You'll be fine."  
  
Harry nodded numbly, "Er..yeah, ok. So what do I do exactly?"  
  
"Well, I'm going to send a volley of different sized balls at you. Don't worry, they won't be rock hard and they won't be HUGE so that it's not catchable. When I think I've seen enough, I'll stop the balls and...yeah!" Ron looked around him and shrugged. "And when more people show up...I'll compare your skills."  
  
Harry simply nodded again, and he suddenly felt awfully nauseas and dizzy at the thought of a thousand different sized balls raining down on him. He frowned._ I don't want to embarrass myself in front of Hermione...uh and Ron...and everyone._ He glanced quickly towards his right at the head girl who simply gave him a reassuring smile.  
  
He then looked over at the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain who seemed to be strangely excited over the whole matter. "So uh...should I start?"  
  
Ron snapped out of his goofy grin and nodded, "Oh right! Ha, sorry Harry, kind of got lost in thought there..hmm..right, so all you have to do is catch as many balls as possible. Once you've caught it, the ball will disappear from your grasp. I'll keep track on how many you've caught, ok?"  
  
"Ok..." Harry hopped onto his broom slowly and hovered above the ground a few feet before nervously glancing at the crate beside Ron's feet.  
  
"Ok then! Ready....set....go!"  
  
Before Harry knew what was happening, he found himself up in the air with the cool afternoon wind blowing in his face, causing his messy locks of ebony hair to fly in every possible direction. The sun shone directly above him and his right arm was constantly outstretched towards the multi-coloured balls that came out in random directions.  
  
A bright green one caught his eye and he noticed it was technically grazing the grass below it, but way above but slightly behind it he could see another medium sized pink ball heading towards his right. Harry squinted his eyes in concentration as he pulled the old school broom downwards and shot down at the ball in a veritcal line before pulling up again abruptly in almost a nintey degree angle and catching the pink ball seconds after.  
  
"BLOODY BRILLIANT HARRY!!" Harry beamed at the sudden comment from Ron and was caught off guard for a moment, which allowed a canary yellow ball to hit him square in the face.  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
"You alright there?" Ron called up towards him as Harry lowered his broom and swiftly landed on his feet.  
  
"Yeah...it was squishy anyways," Harry commented as he glanced at Ron expectantly. "So...what do you think?"  
  
Ron blinked and then shook his head quickly, "Oh! About your seeker abilities?! Wonderful! It's bloody brililant! I wonder who else could match your skills! I mean, I think you might even be better than Dean! Maybe I'll set the Snitch out for you and you can try catching that."  
  
Harry turned red but a smile crept onto his face nonetheless. His silent victory was interupted when three more figures appeared onto the field and approached them.  
  
"Hey, we're here to tryout. I'm Matthew Allen, sixth year. " A tall boy with messy copper hair declared before grinning and running a hand down his polished Nimbus 3000, the closest you could get to a Firebolt itself.  
  
A slightly shorter girl stood behind the boy, with sleek straight dirty blonde hair and a few freckles sprinkled on her nose. "I'm Amara White, fifth year if you're wondering. And this is my younger brother Charles...he's in fourth year." Amara waved a hand at the shortest member of the group with the same dirty blonde hair as his sister.  
  
Ron nodded, grinning like usual. "I thought no one would want to try out except Harry here!"  
  
The three newcomers gave a sideways glance at the boy who stood silghtly winded with the ancient school broom tightly clutched in his right hand. "Who's he?" Matthew raised an eyebrow.  
  
Hermione bit her lip, glancing at the stuttering Harry and decided to answer for him. "Harry..Harry Potter."  
  
Matthew glanced at the young man standing next to Ron and shook his head, "Oh, I thought you were a Hufflepuff."  
  
"I guess he isn't," Hermione muttered under her breath, not really liking Matthew already. Ron didn't seem to notice though, becuse his infamous grin was still plastered over his face. "Great! So now I have four people trying out! Ha, I knew that there had to be _some _brave Gryffindors out there."  
  
Harry's stomach churned, wondering if his skills could surpass the three that stood confidently infront of Ron as the red head explained the rules. A sigh escaped his lips without him noticing until her familiar voice broke his revere. "Relax Harry, you were great out there.."  
  
His jaded eyes widened as he quickly took notice of the grass at his feet instead of _her_. "Um, thanks."  
  
"Really. Better than I thought, no offense." Hermione said sheepishly and smiled. "You heard what Ron said, he says your skills are ...'bloody brilliant'...so have more cofidence in yourself mister."  
  
"...Ok.."  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Ok."  
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
"OKAY. I'm confident, and I'm going to be the darn bloody seeker of Gryffindor."  
  
Hermione beamed, her radiating smile suddenly made Harry's embarrassment wash away as Ron and the rest stared at him with utter confusion.  
  
Ron scratched his head thoughtfully and shrugged. "Right, anyways! Back to the tryouts..."  
  
  


~*~

  
  
  
"Please flip to page 63 of _The Dark Arts: Unmasked_." Professor Dawkes' hollow and slightly scratchy voice echoed through the room as the sound of flipping pages sprung up in the air. "I am sure all of you have learned of banshees in the past, am I correct?"  
  
The class nodded, a slightly bored air hung in the atmosphere. Professor Dawkes was already known to ask typical questions that would waste class time, and it made the students rather agitated. There could have been so many other things they could be doing instead of listening to her mindless quesitons that she probably had the answer herself.  
  
"Right, I was correct." She added with a slight smirk on her deep maroon lips. The class shared looks and most of them rolled their eyes at their professor's unintelligent remark. Hermione couldn't help but huff and blow her honey brown bangs out of her eyes._ I never knew Defense Against the Dark Arts could be so...so lame! _  
  
"Now, since you've all learned about banshees, this question should be simple. Why are they deadly?" Some of them couldn't help but snort at the question. Dawkes said it was a simple question? Then yeah, it was just that simple that no one in the class even bothered to answer the ridiculous question.  
  
Hermione sighed and raised her hand. _Always up to me, isn't it?_   
  
Professor Dawkes eyed her with her steely hazel eyes and nodded, indicating that she could speak. "The screams from a banshee can kill." Hermione mumbled, but clear enough for everyone to understand. Yet they didn't need to hear it from Hermione, haven't they learned this fact sometime in the very very distant past?  
  
Dawkes curtly nodded, "Miss. Granger is correct. Like I said, it was a simple question what not. So today, we are going to work with banshees."  
  
There was a loud gulp that filled the room, and everyone turned towards the source of the sound. They were all clearly surprised it wasn't Neville, in fact, it was Seamus. "Real ones?" He stuttered, trying to keep his voice even.  
  
"No, I believe you've faced this type of issue before. We're going to use boggarts. A special type that are rarer to find then the common boggart. These type of boggarts have a lower defense and can be brought down with a number of spells and not just the 'Riddikulus' spell. "   
  
A sigh of relief came from Seamus, and new confidence seemed to fill him again. "So we can just imagine the banshee in some hot pink bikini?"  
  
Dawkes didn't seemed amused. "No Mr. Finnigan. We're going to let it turn into a banshee and have it attempt its scream."  
  
"What?!" A couple of the students let out a cry, even some of the composed Slytherins.  
  
"But of course, since you are all such intelligent students, you won't let the banshee finish its scream before you shut it up." She explained. "Second paragraph down from the top, there are instructions on a fairly complicated spell to silence a banshee's scream."  
  
"Couldn't we just use the silencing charm?" Pansy Parkinson stiffled a yawn.  
  
"If you want it to scream even louder, then yes." Professor Dawkes eyed her warily, causing a few of the Gryffindors to chuckle and Pansy sent daggers at them without a seconds thought. "We're not talking about normal creatures class. We are dealing with the Dark Arts. Dark creatures...demons." She literally hissed. "They wouldn't easily be finished by a normal charm. That is why we have certain precautions and why we're learning all this anyways!"  
  
She retreated to her desk and bent down so she was no longer in the student's view. A few seconds later she popped up again with a case in one hand, most likely containing the boggart. "Ok, wands out. Did you all read the paragraph? It's not that long."  
  
Harry nervously took out his wand, glancing around the room to see if he was the only one who seemed to be hesitating. Professor Dawkes was never a very comforting presence. "Oblivio Voiginta.." He muttered softly under his breath over and over again. His nervous eyes darted towards a mass of bushy hair and slowly his breath became even again.  
  
"Come to the front and line up, please." She intructed as chairs were pulled back and everyone gathered to the front of the classroom in a straight line.  
  
Hermione's hand suddenly shot up. "Professor!"  
  
"Yes Miss. Granger?"  
  
"Aren't boggarts suppose to..change into our worst fear? What if our worst fear isn't a banshee?"  
  
Professor Dawkes actually broke into a small smile, but Harry noticed that she seemed better without one. "Ah, excellent observation Hermione. That is why each of you will be taking a bit of this before you face the boggart." She held up a small vial that held a strange bright orange liquid inside it. It looked pasty, and something that you wouldn't want to swallow on a regular basis.  
  
"It will alter your mind slightly, in only what you fear. Thanks to Professor Snape this potion has been made. It is very complicated and few are able to brew it. This potion has been set so that all of you will at once have the banshee as your worse fear."  
  
"What if you're worst fear is a banshee already.." Seamus trailed off, looking awfully embarrassed.  
  
"Well, it doens't hurt to have some of this potion anyways. Just in case." Professor Dawkes finished off quickly and handed the vial to the first person in line, Neville. He was trembling from head to toe and looked like he was about to faint before he managed to choke down a bit of the pasty neon orange liquid.  
  
"Ready Neville?"  
  
"Um...yeah...I suppose.." He didn't get a chance to finish because the boggart had already been released from its case and was looming over Neville's chubby form. "Oh...my uh.."  
  
It had already taken the form of a banshee, and alot of the students decided not to look at its disturbing features. Hermione was one of the few that kept her eyes on the thing, and noticed that its mouth was begining to open into an 'O' shape. "Neville! Hurry!"  
  
"Um..um.." He was getting paler by the second as he raised his wand with one shaky hand. "..OO..OBLIVION...VOIGINTA..!!" He clamped his eyes shut before he heard Dawkes snap, "Mr. Weasley, you're up next!"  
  
Ron quickly gulped down a bit of the potion and the boggart quickly changed from its form of Mrs. Weasley scolding him to a banshee once again as the potion kicked in. Before it could even open its mouth Ron had the spell out of his mouth in a blur. The banshee flinched but stayed intact. "Slowly, don't blurt it. Boggarts are known not to have excellent hearing." Dawkes stated.  
  
The youngest Weasley boy quickly took a breath and tried again. This time it worked and another student was quickly pushed to the front. This went on for the another ten minutes, Hermione breezing past it with a flick of her wand.  
  
At last, Harry flushed the potion down his throat, not wanting to taste it. The boggart seemed confused for a moment, blinking from a series of different images. Once it was a strange bright green flash that caused the whole class to shield themselves.  
  
"Oooh, look at that! Potter's got too many fears for the boggart to take only the form of one!" Draco Malfoy called from the back of the classroom.  
  
The Slytherins sneered but Dawkes paid no attention to them. "The potion will make it turn into a banshee."  
  
Suddenly the altering boggart froze and finally took on a form. A misty black figure was in place of where a banshee should have appeared, and near the top of the figure where a head would most likely be, two red slits hung there glaring menacingly straight into Harry's horror stricken eyes.  
  
He heard a scream, and he didn't know who it belonged to. It might've been his own but all at once fire seemed to erupt in his head and he doubled over in pain. The last words he heard before darkness was a girl's voice saying _'Riddikulus!'_.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
